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I am a single man who drives a station wagon. How important do you think street cred is to me?

Got a chuckle out of that, KT.
At one time I owned 4 wagons in a row, 3 Volvos and the last one an '86 Sable, the first year of the model. But I was married with 3 kids. They pre-dated minivans and were a neccessity for a small family which travelled a lot.

In a word - provocative - some would say joining the iconic M colors at the hip with the L (new luxury BMW branding) is sacrilegious. I disagree. I had an epiphany during our "spirited" exchange earlier in this thread. We all realize BMW is a Big Tent and must constantly discover clever ways to expand the tent. BMW’s financial viability necessitates selling as many 3 series variants as possible especially profit laden 328iLs. Sales of the 328iL are most certainly helping to underwrite the development of Ms. In turn 328i sales are enhanced by basking in the glow provided by M, and further augmented by the iconic mantra - the Ultimate Driving Machine - legitimized by M.

In short - no 328iL - no 3/4M. Although the 328iL is not my thing, it is necessary. Even though some may view BJ’s artfully executed logo as an act of presumptuous provocation – I see it as an inconvenient but necessary truth. Besides who says you have to drive an M to take pride in M or BMW. We are a diverse lot here – joined by our passion for the BMW brand – no harm done flying the flag.

In a word - provocative - some would say joining the iconic M colors at the hip with the L (new luxury BMW branding) is sacrilegious. I disagree. I had an epiphany during our "spirited" exchange earlier in this thread. We all realize BMW is a Big Tent and must constantly discover clever ways to expand the tent. BMW’s financial viability necessitates selling as many 3 series variants as possible especially profit laden 328iLs. Sales of the 328iL are most certainly helping to underwrite the development of Ms. In turn 328i sales are enhanced by basking in the glow provided by M, and further augmented by the iconic mantra - the Ultimate Driving Machine - legitimized by M.

In short - no 328iL - no 3/4M. Although the 328iL is not my thing, it is necessary. Even though some may view BJ’s artfully executed logo as an act of presumptuous provocation – I see it as an inconvenient but necessary truth. Besides who says you have to drive an M to take pride in M or BMW. We are a diverse lot here – joined by our passion for the BMW brand – no harm done flying the flag.

LOL, a convert! Chalk another one up to the Beej and the power of persuasion.

In a word - provocative - some would say joining the iconic M colors at the hip with the L (new luxury BMW branding) is sacrilegious. I disagree. I had an epiphany during our "spirited" exchange earlier in this thread. We all realize BMW is a Big Tent and must constantly discover clever ways to expand the tent. BMW’s financial viability necessitates selling as many 3 series variants as possible especially profit laden 328iLs. Sales of the 328iL are most certainly helping to underwrite the development of Ms. In turn 328i sales are enhanced by basking in the glow provided by M, and further augmented by the iconic mantra - the Ultimate Driving Machine - legitimized by M.

In short - no 328iL - no 3/4M. Although the 328iL is not my thing, it is necessary. Even though some may view BJ’s artfully executed logo as an act of presumptuous provocation – I see it as an inconvenient but necessary truth. Besides who says you have to drive an M to take pride in M or BMW. We are a diverse lot here – joined by our passion for the BMW brand – no harm done flying the flag.

I knew we were going to like each other. Just took a little time.

In my attempts at humor on BF since 2006, I've been very right. So along with my 428i and M328i, I'm certain that someday there will be the ///L division making L318i,s too.

Good points CA, but I disagree in regard to the EPS (electric power steering). I can only think of one good reason for its existance and that is it might result in a few tenths more mpg. So doing adds to the cost, greatly increases the complexity, and completely separates the driver from the road. I am unable to imagine how some feedback gimmickry can recreate that connection.
For those who don't know, EPS used to use an electric powered power steering pump. The mechanical and hydraulic systems were otherwise the same as they've been for 50 years. In fact, total failure of the EPS system would still result in a steerable car.
Not any more. Now there is no steel connecting the driver with the wheels. The steering wheel is now a big...sensor. It senses which way you've turned it, how far and how fast. It sends this information to another of many computers (yes, there's one just for steering now!) where the computer looks at vehicle speed, direction, and stability data from the DSC computer and the computer decides how far to turn your steering rack via the stepper motor now replacing the input shaft on the steering box! Failure of this system will result in an unsteerable car. Of course, many redundant systems will ensure that there is never a failure...

I was hoping for at least "///L328iM" if not " ///L328TiCMxDrive", which I believe is Roman numerals for 42. Maybe the "C" can only be added when the F32 comes out...
... Which could be ///L428TiCMxDrive.
428i... Dude, you made it!

I was hoping for at least "///L328iM" if not " ///L328TiCMxDrive", which I believe is Roman numerals for 42. Maybe the "C" can only be added when the F32 comes out...
... Which could be ///L428TiCMxDrive.
428i... Dude, you made it!

The redundant systems which are there to ensure that nothing can ever go wrong...like went wrong on the 200 cars BMW recalled last Summer for EPS, um, glitches.
Speaking of 'feedback' through the steering wheel, here's a lead on where it's going.http://www.mv.uni-kl.de/index.php?id=1492&L=1&S=0

Yes. Any argument about whether the shark fin antenna is a design flaw or not is hopelessly outdated, boltjaM3s has a few newbies nibbling but the old fish know better, and goats may be so far out they're now back in.

Oh yeah, one other thing, Kevin doesn't give a hoot about street cred, but I think he enjoys a little sky cred. Kilgore says he has no cred but on the other hand he's always telling us "chicks dig wagons" so I'm thinking at least his car has some cred.